When is the 2026 World Cup draw?
The final draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup is expected to take place in December 2025, roughly 6 months before the tournament begins. FIFA typically hosts the final draw in a host city with significant media coverage.
How the draw works
The 48 qualified teams are seeded into 4 pots of 12:
- Pot 1: The three hosts (USA, Canada, Mexico) plus the 9 highest-ranked teams per FIFA World Ranking
- Pot 2: The next 12 highest-ranked teams
- Pot 3: The next 12
- Pot 4: The lowest-ranked 12 + playoff winners
Draw rules
Each of the 12 groups gets one team from each pot. FIFA applies two main constraints:
- Hosts split into specific groups — USA in Group D, Canada in Group B, Mexico in Group A (confirmed positions)
- No two teams from the same confederation in the same group, except UEFA (which has so many teams some groups will include 2 UEFA sides)
What happens after the draw?
Once teams are drawn into their groups, the full match schedule with specific team matchups is finalized. Kickoff times and venues are already pre-assigned by group letter, so the draw tells us exactly who plays when and where.
Our full schedule page will update with real matchups within 24 hours of the final draw.